You write...

WEEK after week in the tabloids we are bombarded with stories about Ferguson, Wenger and McClaren.

All of them have had millions of pounds to spend on players, not forgetting Chelsea of course.

But what about the David Hodgsons of this world.

With extremely limited resources he has battled on and put together a team with a realistic chance of the play-offs.

Where would Middlesbrough be without Steve Gibson's millions?

I was pleased to read the editor of The Northern Echo appealing for more support for the Quakers.

May I suggest a reason for the lack of support.

I am in my middle 70s with bad knees and the long walk to the stadium is just a bit much for me - I never missed a game at Feethams.

The £5 parking fee is far too high for pensioners - surely on match days a bus service could be put on from the town centre?

In the winter, on wet, cold days, not many will walk from the town.

I still think the supporters of lower league teams are the salt of the earth and add to that the supporters of Conference teams and the Ryman Premier League. I suggest that together all these supporters total more than the Premier League.

I've been to Wembley twice and we have lost 1-0 each time when a little bit of luck would have seen us promoted. What price Cardiff this year? - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

CHRISTMAS

EVERY year it's the same old story: someone berating the Christmas TV planners.

Well, I for one think they do a very creditable job in providing a mass entertainment schedule - undoubtedly a momentous task.

Sadly, I think we have come to expect far too much, as we have been spoilt in past years. Christopher Wardell (HAS, Dec 21) knocks programmes dealing with the Third World, but surely, as a Christian country, this is what Christmas is all about.

I would dearly like to see more Christian programmes, but sadly we are living in an increasingly secular world.

And if you don't like what's on the box there are plenty of videos and DVDs to fill your time in with. - Ken Jackson, Northallerton.

DARLINGTON TOWN CENTRE

DO we need a new shopping complex in Darlington? After Christmas I believe we will have plenty of empty shops in town.

I cannot see it getting any better for trade after the General Election, in my opinion.

Investment would be very risky at the present time, top priority should be a new bus station, which just gets overlooked, a disgrace to visitors and people of our town, setting a bad example. - N Tate, Darlington.

AFTER reading many letters to HAS concerning the doubts of readers on the proposed modernisation of the High Row in Darlington, it seems that some people have been overawed by the Chris Lloyd articles on the town's past.

Ever since the wheel was invented it has caused problems among those who are affected by its rotation.

The word, rotation, does give a pointer, not only to the past but also to the future of Darlington as an attractive retail centre.

Darlington has had an illustrious past mainly due to steel wheels running on two steel lines. The future of the town will largely depend on rubber supported wheels and the importance of three lines in the town centre.

There are three parallel lines of traffic moving continuously through the centre. Two along the through road and one along the High Row.

Their slow movement causes the discharge of vehicle exhaust fumes at ground level and, in the case of waiting bus passengers, the exhaust fumes from vehicles moving along the High Row are emitted at head height.

It is therefore necessary in the interest of shoppers' health that one of the lines of traffic be eliminated or severely restricted.

As Darlington progresses through a new century with all its modern advantages, the town council should be turning its thoughts to the future, remembering that while ornamental stone may appeal to certain eyes, the same material adorns churchyards and cemeteries.

Darlington has had a prosperous past but the rotating hands of the clock remind its citizens that time moves on. - T Conlon, Spennymoor.

LAW AND ORDER

HOW true is the letter from N Tate (HAS, Dec 20).

In this country, most thieves show a profit even if they are caught for one of their thefts and are given so called 'punishment'.

The facts are that in any human collection there will be some who will still steal others' property and the amount stolen and the numbers that will commit these crimes depend on the punishment meted out. In this country it is so derisive that almost anyone can steal others' property and be better off when caught and punished.

In other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, punishment to thieves is so harsh that there is only a very few who will steal; hardly any of the public know what a burglar alarm is; few have even seen a steering lock and in fact most car owners wind down the car windows to keep cool and generally leave the ignition key in. If that happened in this country, police could say it was the owner's fault if the car was stolen and not the thieves'.

Of course, the punishment there is so harsh it will never be adopted here. A thief will have his right hand cut off, so is something worth stealing?

This punishment will never occur here, even though it would stop 99.9 per cent of potential thieves. So could the punishments here be made more strict?

In one country, if thieves are caught then the victim is given permission at any time to go and rob the thief's property and the action will be approved by their law. That does cut down stealing.

No-one in this country needs to starve for want of money, as can happen in other countries, so there in no need for people to steal others' property. - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.